C.S Lewis a Christian apologist and writer. In his book entitled The Problem of Pain " he says...

“It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.”

He also said in the same book that ..

“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. For God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

It is often in the times when odds are against me, pressure is piled high, when I am at the lowest of lows, when there seems like no escape, that I am feeling the most pain.

Five years when I was walking on a sidewalk, a car that was going 40 mph hit me from behind sending me three hundred feet. As I laid in that street in shock with my leg twisted in a position that wasn't normal for a human being, I remember thinking is this it? If I die today, have I really gave God my everything?

Goal for Life Application:

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To move the congregation to a renewed vision of who God is.

We have all experienced pain in some shape or form. Whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual. We hear questions such as "If God is love, then why does bad stuff happen to good people?" Or "How can A loving God send people to hell? I am sure we all have asked those questions ourselves or have been asked that at some point in our life.

Pain is the preresquiette to experiencing God's Holiness. He says "Be Holy as I am Holy". God is a loving, merciful, and gracious God but, he is also a God of judgment, justice, and righteousness. There is a call to Holiness for everyone. A call to become more like Christ and often that call comes with being a partaker in the fellowship of His sufferings and as the Apostle Paul said “to live is Christ and to die is gain”. Eleven out of the twelve original apostles suffered a martyr's death. That is, they died for what they believed in. In our text we learn of the Prophet Isaiah who died by being sawed in half and also like all of us had a call on his life to be Holy. Let's see what God has to say about what it means to follow His call of Holiness.

INTRODUCTION

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C.S Lewis a Christian apologist and writer. In his book entitled The Problem of Pain " he says...

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

“It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.”

He also said in the same book that ..

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. For God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

It is often in the times when odds are against me, pressure is piled high, when I am at the lowest of lows, when there seems like no escape, that I am feeling the most pain.

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

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8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

Five years when I was walking on a sidewalk, a car that was going 40 mph hit me from behind sending me three hundred feet. As I laid in that street in shock with my leg twisted in a position that wasn't normal for a human being, I remember thinking is this it? If I die today, have I really gave God my everything?

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

We have all experienced pain in some shape or form. Whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual. We hear questions such as "If God is love, then why does bad stuff happen to good people?" Or "How can A loving God send people to hell? I am sure we all have asked those questions ourselves or have been asked that at some point in our life.

​

Pain is the preresquiette to experiencing God's Holiness. He says "Be Holy as I am Holy". God is a loving, merciful, and gracious God but, he is also a God of judgment, justice, and righteousness. There is a call to Holiness for everyone. A call to become more like Christ and often that call comes with being a partaker in the fellowship of His sufferings and as the Apostle Paul said “to live is Christ and to die is gain”. Eleven out of the twelve original apostles suffered a martyr's death. That is, they died for what they believed in. In our text we learn of the Prophet Isaiah who died by being sawed in half and also like all of us had a call on his life to be Holy. Let's see what God has to say about what it means to follow His call of Holiness.

The book of Isaiah is about the story of salvation and It was in the temple of God that Isaiah see's himself in a vision. There is no doubt that Isaiah is hurting. His King has died and now he is seeing the nation of Judah falling apart and being forced into exile. Then something amazing happens. Something so profound and majestic. That same Isaiah, gains a new perspective as he see's God in all his beauty, splendor and Holiness.

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6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

Holiness see’s God on the throne (V.1-4)

In the year ofKing Uzziah’s deathI saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.2 Seraphim stood above Him,each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

We see in the first two verses of our texta Holy vision of God being on the throne. Now when people hear the word Holy we tend to think of this legalistic lifestyle where we try to keep the Ten Commandments and we are to stay away from the "sinners" True Holiness isn't separation from sinners but, it is separation from our own sin. In this vision that Isaiah has, we see him have a change in perspective because of how he saw the Lord.

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

The Lord translated from the original language is JEHOVAH the most sacred name of God that Jews didn't even dare to repeat it.

But,we will never see Jesus for who He is until we see our sin for what it isn't. As long as we view our sin as something that is more important to us than serving God we will never see God for who He is. We will continue to see God as this creator who is "out to get us". And not as a God who is love that we see as one who is king!

in ancient times when a king had won a great victory and defeated an enemy, the king would walk through the battle ground and take for his men the spoils. But the greatest recognition for the king that he had been victorious was signified when he would have a piece of the defeated king’s robe cut off and then sewn onto the bottom or the train of his own robe. For a king in Old Testament times, the length of his robe (or the train) would therefore be a sign or an indication of his greatness i.e. the longer his train, the move victories he had won and the more kings he had defeated.

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

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6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

V.2-4- Seraphim stood above Him,each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.3 And one called out to another and said,

“Holy, Holy, Holy, is theLordof hosts,Thewhole earth is full of His glory.”

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

And thefoundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while thetemple was filling with smoke.

The book of Isaiah is about the story of salvation and It was in the temple of God that Isaiah see's himself in a vision. There is no doubt that Isaiah is hurting. His King has died and now he is seeing the nation of Judah falling apart and being forced into exile. Then something amazing happens. Something so profound and majestic. That same Isaiah, gains a new perspective as he see's God in all his beauty, splendor and Holiness.

Even the Seraphim, which were the Angels of God couldn't stand in the face of glory and Holiness. The seraphim is translated as the "burning ones" they would fly in the throne room of God and were constantly moving and serving God. They would hear God speak but, would cover their eyes so they wouldn't see Him. His glory and majesty was even too much for his angels to handle.

They would constantly sing Holy, Holy, Holy. It is not until we see His holiness that we grow a desire to serve Him. A lot of us use to not be able to wait to get to church in expectation of what would happen. We would sing loudly, sometimes raise our hands but, then we got comfortable in our faith and we stopped seeing how Holy, set a part, and different God was. We started seeing him as below us instead of above us. We stopped seeing Him when we stopped seeing our sin. There is a lot we can learn from these burning ones who went about serving God and singing praises to the king.

Holiness envisions God as He is (V.1-4)

They never let their fire burn out, they never stopped serving God. "It is said that they cried out to each other Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord almighty. The whole earth is filled with his glory"

In the year ofKing Uzziah’s deathI saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.2 Seraphim stood above Him,each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

When these burning ones cried out, the posts on the door were shaken. This shows great symbolism as to how our old life and inner man must be shaken and stirred up before we allow ourselves to come to God.

We see in the first two verses of our text a Holy vision of God being on the throne. Now when people hear the word Holy we tend to think of this legalistic lifestyle where we try to keep the Ten Commandments and we are to stay away from the "sinners" True Holiness isn't separation from sinners but, it is separation from our own sin. In this vision that Isaiah has, we see him have a change in perspective because of how he saw the Lord.

Holiness gives Confession(V.5)

But, we will never see Jesus for who He is until we see our sin for what it isn't. As long as we view our sin as something that is more important to us than serving God we will never see God for who He is. We will continue to see God as this creator who is "out to get us". And not as a God who is love that we see as one who is king!

in ancient times when a king had won a great victory and defeated an enemy, the king would walk through the battle ground and take for his men the spoils. But the greatest recognition for the king that he had been victorious was signified when he would have a piece of the defeated king’s robe cut off and then sewn onto the bottom or the train of his own robe. For a king in Old Testament times, the length of his robe (or the train) would therefore be a sign or an indication of his greatness i.e. the longer his train, the move victories he had won and the more kings he had defeated.

Then I said,

“Woe is me, for I am ruined!Because I am a man ofunclean lips,And I live among apeople of unclean lips;For my eyes have seen theKing, theLordof hosts.”

V.2-4-

“Holy, Holy, Holy, is theLordof hosts,Thewhole earth is full of His glory.”

A call to Holiness involves A Holy heart of giving confession. When we see our sin we cannot help but see God's Holiness. He is much greater than we are. He is perfection, he is set apart. No one is like our God. Nothing can even come close in comparison to who He is! A Holy heart see's that. If you are here today and you cannot see how set a part and different he is, then you are in trouble because no matter how much we do in the church, or how much we read the bible or how morally right our behavior is, nothing we do or say or think can compare to the glory revealed in Him. You would stand back in wonder and awe at your creator. Isaiah says "Woe is me, for I am ruined" The ruined here means undone, unraveled, coming apart. Isaiah here in the presence of the almighty God just completely falls apart. It makes me think of Church in America. Many services you see today, people seem to have it all together. They aren't falling apart. They aren't broken when they enter God's presence in worship. A Holy heart says God I am ruined, I am done when I look at your Holiness, majesty, and power. If we look at the previous five chapters in the book of Isaiah we see him not saying "woe to me" but he is saying "woe to them." He is pointing out other people's sin but, the Holiness of God reveals our own sin.

And thefoundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while thetemple was filling with smoke.

You want to start a revival? Don't just pray for one. Be one. A revival starts with our own heart and then it spreads like a wild fire to others.

Holiness is willing to GO and serve (V.6-8)

Even the Seraphim, which were the Angels of God couldn't stand in the face of glory and Holiness. The seraphim is translated as the "burning ones" they would fly in the throne room of God and were constantly moving and serving God. They would hear God speak but, would cover their eyes so they wouldn't see Him. His glory and majesty was even too much for his angels to handle.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from thealtar with tongs.7 Hetouched my mouthwith itand said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; andyour iniquity is taken away and your sin isforgiven.”Then I heard thevoice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” ThenI said, “Here am I. Send me!”

They would constantly sing Holy, Holy, Holy. It is not until we see His holiness that we grow a desire to serve Him. A lot of us use to not be able to wait to get to church in expectation of what would happen. We would sing loudly, sometimes raise our hands but, then we got comfortable in our faith and we stopped seeing how Holy, set a part, and different God was. We started seeing him as below us instead of above us. We stopped seeing Him when we stopped seeing our sin. There is a lot we can learn from these burning ones who went about serving God and singing praises to the king.

They never let their fire burn out, they never stopped serving God. "It is said that they cried out to each other Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord almighty. The whole earth is filled with his glory"

A Holy life is one that is being commissioned. We see from our text the work of grace that God did through Isaiah & how he consecrated himself to the Lord and by the power of the Holy Spirit he was cleansed. A seraphim touched his lips with a burning coal. You see in our journey with the Lord. There are going to be painful serations where God is going to need to purify us & cleanse us to prepare us for the work of his service. Earlier I mentioned about my painful experience but, what I didn't mention was what I prayed as I was walking before I got struck by that vehicle. I remember that I was just frustrated with God. I didn't know what God wanted me to. I just moved out of my mother's house to follow God's leading. I moved in with a friend only for him to tell me two months later that he was entering the military and this was when I was incapable of working because I had a broken leg. I remember while walking down that street before getting hit by that car saying, "God what do you want from me? Why don't you just take my life. I give you full control". And that's exactly what he did. It was a painful experience but, I wouldn't trade it for anything. It was my crisis moment where I experienced God's Holiness and encountered God. It was his vision where he revealed a mission. God has a vision for all of us to see. We all have a call to holiness. Isaiah, said Here I am, send me! He volunteered himself because he saw God and was changed. For us, whether you hear God's call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude.

When these burning ones cried out, the posts on the door were shaken. This shows great symbolism as to how our old life and inner man must be shaken and stirred up before we allow ourselves to come to God.

Transition Statement:Now What?

Gods call to Holiness is to be love because God is love and we are to be Holy as He is Holy. We need to envision God being on the throne and not us, to be humble enough to approach his throne of grace for confession and knowing that you have been commissioned.

Holiness enables confession as we are(V.5)

A call to Holiness involves a heart of giving confession. When we see our sin we cannot help but see God's Holiness. He is much greater than we are. He is perfection, he is set apart. No one is like our God. Nothing can even come close in comparison to who He is! A Holy heart see's that. If you are here today and you cannot see how set a part and different he is, then you are in trouble because no matter how much we do in the church, or how much we read the bible or how morally right our behavior is, nothing we do or say or think can compare to the glory revealed in Him. You would stand back in wonder and awe at your creator.

YOU (Clarifying the Response for the individual/congregation)

So whatever you're going through today whether it's the loss of a loved one, a broken relationship, or trouble with finances. Know that God is Holy & God is love and that his vision for you as it says in is to give you a future and a hope that is not of evil. He wants to speak to you to give you comfort and has called you to serve him just as he called Isaiah. That doesn't mean though that we won't have trials and tribulations but we can be assured that the taller the mountain is to climb the greater glory he will receive.

“Woe is me, for I am ruined!Because I am a man ofunclean lips,And I live among apeople of unclean lips;For my eyes have seen theKing, theLordof hosts.”

A call to Holiness involves a heart of giving confession. When we see our sin we cannot help but see God's Holiness. He is much greater than we are. He is perfection, he is set apart. No one is like our God. Nothing can even come close in comparison to who He is! A Holy heart see's that. If you are here today and you cannot see how set a part and different he is, then you are in trouble because no matter how much we do in the church, or how much we read the bible or how morally right our behavior is, nothing we do or say or think can compare to the glory revealed in Him. You would stand back in wonder and awe at your creator.

WE

What if we as a church would see the vision God has for us and really seek him through tears and repentance and allowed the Holy Spirit to do a cleansing work within us so He can fulfill His mission through us. says.."And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions" When it comes to God's dreams for us. We have two options. We can either stay in bed with them or we can get up and chase them. What are you going to do?

Isaiah says "Woe is me, for I am ruined" The ruined here means undone, unraveled, coming apart. Isaiah here in the presence of the almighty God just completely falls apart. It makes me think of Church in America. Many services you see today, people seem to have it all together. They aren't falling apart. They aren't broken when they enter God's presence in worship. A Holy heart says God I am ruined, I am done when I look at your Holiness, majesty, and power. If we look at the previous five chapters in the book of Isaiah we see him not saying "woe to me" but he is saying "woe to them." He is pointing out other people's sin but, the Holiness of God reveals our own sin.

You want to start a revival? Don't just pray for one. Be one. A revival starts with our own heart and then it spreads like a wild fire to others.

Holiness is embodied by a life of service as God sends (V.6-8)

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from thealtar with tongs.7 Hetouched my mouthwith itand said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; andyour iniquity is taken away and your sin isforgiven.”Then I heard thevoice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” ThenI said, “Here am I. Send me!”

We see from our text the work of grace that God did through Isaiah & how he consecrated himself to the Lord and by the power of the Holy Spirit he was cleansed. A seraphim touched his lips with a burning coal. You see in our journey with the Lord. There are going to be painful seperations where God is going to need to purify us & cleanse us to prepare us for the work of his service.

Earlier I mentioned about my painful experience but, what I didn't mention was what I prayed as I was walking before I got struck by that vehicle. I remember that I was just frustrated with God. I didn't know what God wanted me to. I just moved out of my mother's house to follow God's leading. I moved in with a friend only for him to tell me two months later that he was entering the military and this was when I was incapable of working because I had a broken leg. I remember while walking down that street before getting hit by that car saying, "God what do you want from me? Why don't you just take my life. I give you full control". And that's exactly what he did. It was a painful experience but, I wouldn't trade it for anything. It was my crisis moment where I experienced God's Holiness and encountered God. It was his vision where he revealed a mission. God has a vision for all of us to see. We all have a call to holiness. Isaiah, said Here I am, send me! He volunteered himself because he saw God and was changed. For us, whether you hear God's call or not depends on the condition of your ears, and exactly what you hear depends upon your spiritual attitude.

Gods call to Holiness is to be love because God is love and we are to be Holy as He is Holy. We need to envision God being on the throne and not us, to be humble enough to approach his throne of grace for confession and knowing that you have been commissioned.

Application

So whatever you're going through today whether it's the loss of a loved one, a broken relationship, or trouble with finances. Know that God is Holy & God is love and that his vision for you as it says in is to give you a future and a hope that is not of evil. He wants to speak to you to give you comfort and has called you to serve him just as he called Isaiah.

What if we as a church would see the vision God has for us and really seek him through tears and repentance and allowed the Holy Spirit to do a cleansing work within us so He can fulfill His mission through us. says.."And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions" When it comes to God's dreams for us. We have two options. We can either stay in bed with them or we can get up and chase them. What are you going to do?